It only takes us a few minutes to pack the car and get inside. I look back at the house, knowing that I’m leaving my entire life behind and try not to cry.

The driver doesn’t say much to me the entire way to Mr. Blackwood’s estate.

By the time the car pulls up to the imposing place that looms ahead like some dark sentinel in the darkness, I am scared out of my wits. The gates open with an almost eerie smoothness, and I can’t help but feel a sense of foreboding as we pass through.

The ...